KOTA KINABALU – The full force of the law must be brought down against those behind the fake Covid-19 screening and vaccination scams that are happening in the country, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today.
He said their actions are unforgivable as they are taking advantage of a global health crisis to make a quick profit.
“We should not compromise with those behind the fake screening and vaccination scams. I’m glad the authorities are now taking action.
“Investigations must be done. The authorities must continue to investigate until all of them are identified.
“Making a profit should not come at the expense of those who are innocent. This is especially when Omicron is getting much worse now,” he told reporters during a press conference at Lok Kawi army base near here today.
Hishammuddin’s comments came at the heels of the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani saying that the police force will intensify operations and monitoring in tracking down parties involved in selling fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates.
This comes after police detected such a case in Marang, Terengganu.
In Sabah, a man is currently under remand by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for soliciting payments from those unvaccinated for illegally updating their vaccination certificates in the MySejahtera app.
Hishammuddin is on a two-day working visit to Sabah where he is expected to be in Tawau for a security and defence matter.
Earlier, Hishammuddin inspected the four latest Royal Malaysian Navy Littoral Mission Ships (LMS), KD Keris, KD Sundang, KD Badik and KD Rencong at the Sepanggar naval base near here.
KD Rencong is the latest addition to the navy’s fleet, and arrived at the naval base on December 28 last year. It is expected to be commissioned on January 28.
“The LMS is one of the five classes of ships under the Fleet National Transformation programme, (the quota of) which has been reduced from 15 classes to five.
“The acquisition contract for the four LMS vessels was signed between the Ministry of Defence, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd and along with the cooperation of the China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Co Ltd. This project is the first capital defence assets from China,” he said.
Also present was Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor.
Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said the cooperation between Sabah and the Federal Government is now at the highest level in terms of dealing with security.
Hishammuddin assured that the Defence Ministry and the military will give their support and assistance to Sabah, including in dealing with the flood disasters in the state.
“Although Sabah has almost recovered from the recent flood disasters, on behalf of the Defence Ministry and the military, we will constantly be on alert and ready for any eventuality, as well as ensure cooperation with the Sabah government,” said Hishammuddin, referring to the flood relief effort carried out by the military codenamed Ops Murni. – The Vibes, January 13, 2022
